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Abstract
Owing to a poor capability for evacuation, mobile medical teams were sent to the area
of Gazni in Afghanistan to work with local paramedics as part of a medical programme
for the area. The teams were equipped to perform major surgery. During 1 month a surgical
team inside Afghanistan performed 53 operations. The operations were performed in
the patients' homes at night. The team had to move frequently so as not to be spotted
by the Soviet and government surveillance. Equipment equivalent to a light field hospital
was stored in a safe place and the team carried supplies for 1 or 2 days on their
bicycles. One postoperative death and one wound infection were recorded.
It is concluded that adequate surgery can be performed inside territories where enemy
forces have air control and under primitive conditions with an acceptable rate of
complications. However, due to the nature of the guerrilla warfare with scattered
military confrontations over vast areas, the average time between injury and treatment
for war casualties was 36 h.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
November 4,
1991
Identification
Copyright
© 1992 Published by Elsevier Inc.
